In the world of firearms people usually fall into one of two categories, AR15 fans and AK47 fans and while this won’t be an article comparing the two, knowing the differences gives us a better understanding into why toughening up an AR rifle might be a good choice for you.

In many people’s eyes, the AR15 style rifles are a little lacking in the durability department for hard duty use and training. The reasons for this are mostly due to the gas operating system and certain areas of the design.

Now I personally don’t look down on the AR the way some do (although I do love my AK) but if your looking for a way to add a little durability to your AR then here are a few tips.

1) First lets start with the barrel. Now this is one of the two areas of an AR style rifle that are the most important parts of the gun and need to be good quality. So to toughen it up the best option is to go with a chrome lined, cold hammer forged barrel either in a government or heavy barrel profile. This will make extraction easier, even with the dirtiest of ammo and will increase the life/round count of your barrel. Buy from companies with a good reputation for quality CHF & chrome lined barrels.

2) Next we look to the bolt carrier group. One sure way to toughen it up is to go with a chromed plated or nickel boron coated BCG. This will give you much greater shooting time before having to break down and clean your rifle. There are several companies making chrome and nickel boron coated BCG’s and most are of good quality.

3) Next we look at the trigger pins. These hold your hammer and trigger in place and can on occasion back out and cause malfunctions. The easy solution for this is to pick up a set of Anti Walk Pins, you can pick them up just about anywhere and they’re easy to install and they prevent the pins from backing out of the lower receiver.

4) Finally we look at the gas system. This is the biggest complaint from AK fans in that the gas system fouls up the action by blowing hot gas and carbon back into the receiver. The easiest way to fix this is to go with a piston system for your AR. It eliminates this particular issue but do make sure the piston kit you install is a quality kit.

So there you have it, if you want to bring the durability level up on your AR style rifle, there are four ways to toughen it up.

Along with your barrel, your Bolt Carrier Group is the “Heart” of your AR rifle. So choosing the right one is very important to the overall quality and dependability of your rifle.

The “Mil-Spec” or industry standard for BCG’s are as follows …… Carpenter 158 steel, shot peened, gas key secured with grade 8 fasteners, chrome lined and parkerized. While there are some variations and options like different coatings, these standards will be the same for most BCG’s on the market.

One of the first things you want to look for in a BCG is that it’s been MPI and HPT tested. MPI stands for “magnetic partical inspected” and HPT stands for “high pressure tested” …… basically these are tests to help determine if there are any issues with the BCG such as cracks or hairline fractures that could cause failures. These tests are also use on barrels as well.

Now many companies test their BCG’s in these ways but some companies “Batch” test their BCG’s which basically means that for every batch of BCG’s they produce, they only test one BCG. Definitely something you’ll want to check into when purchasing. Companies like BCM, Daniel Defense, Spike’s Tactical & Palmetto State Armory are examples of companies who individually test their parts.

Next you’ll want to check the staking of the gas key on your BCG. Now this can be pretty hard to do if your buying online so do your research on the different companies to find out who has a good reputation in this department.

For those that don’t know what the staking of the gas key is, I’ll explain. The gas key is the part of the BCG that comes into contact with the gas tube coming from the gas block on the barrel and it is what the gas blowing back from the barrel comes into to contact with to cycle the action of the bolt. Because of all the pressures associated with this and because the gas key is attached to the rest of the BCG by two small hex bolts, it’s inportant that those bolts are properly “staked” into place to prevent them from backing out or loosening due to the pressure and causing a failure.

The next thing you’ll want to take into consideration is wether or not your getting an AR15 style BCG or an M16 BCG. The differences are noticable at the rear of the BCG where the top and bottom of the M16 style BCG are the same length adding weight and stability to the action and also slightly slowing down the cycle rate which of course is preferable for full auto rifles. The AR15 style BCG has the bottom rear of the BCG cut back to reduce weight and cost of the BCG.

Now while most civilian shooters won’t notice the difference between these two types of bolts, now days the two kinds of bolts are so comparable in price that you might as well just go for an M16 style BCG.

One final thing to keep in mind is the chrome lining. Some companies advertise chrome lining on their BCG’s and some don’t, but keep in mind that chrome lining in the body of the BCG where the bolt rides and inside the gas key is an industry standard. So while you may not see it advertised, I’m not aware of any company currently manufacturing a BCG without chrome lining.

So thats its, those are the basics. There are some customized options out ther like specialty o-rings and ejector springs that you’ll sometimes find on some BCG’s but for the most part those are upgrades or customizations and aren’t a part of your standard BCG.

The debate between AR and AK lovers has been going on for years and will likely go on for many more, after all these are the two most popular rifles on the planet. But lets compare a few key aspects of these two rifle platforms and see if we can come up with a clear winner in this decades long debate.

Before we start this comparison, I’d like to point out a couple of things. First off for the sake of comparison, we’ll be sticking to specific calibers, the 5.56×45 or .223 for the AR platform and the 7.62×39 caliber for the AK. We’ll stick to these calibers since they are the most popular and most common and they are the calibers the rifles were designed to fire. Also for the sake of comparison we’ll be assuming that the AR platform is a direct impingement system as it is again the most popular and most common and what the rifle was designed to operate with.

So let’s jump right in …….

Appearance – This is a draw as this is a personal preferance issue although in my opinion I believe the AR is a better looking rifle. DRAW

Accessories – The AR wins in this catagory. While the AK platform has many accessories on the market available for it, the AR has far more and its modular design lends itself to adding accessories much more than the AK design. EDGE AR15

Controls/Features – These two rifles are very different in this catagory and for many that makes it a clear choice for a winner but honestly to me this is a draw. The reason is that some will look at the AR platform and say that because it has more controls and features built into the design, thus creating more ways to manipulate the weapon, that this makes it the better rifle. However others will argue that the simplicity in design of the AK platform lends itself to being the easier rifle to operate and manipulate. In my opinion both points of view are correct and it really boils down to knowning your rifle and training with whatever rifle you choose. DRAW

Action – By action I mean comparing the AR’s Direct Impingement gas system to the AK’s Piston gas system. In this catagory I have to call it a draw. Even though some will say that the AK piston gas system has been around longer and the AR gas system got off to a rocky start, by modern standards both gas systems have a good reputation and function very well for their given platforms. DRAW

Accuracy – This one has to go to the AR15 as it has been consistantly more accurate through different types and rates of fire, than the AK47. Now part of this has to do with the overall design of the rifle and part of it is the caliber it shoots. EDGE AR15

Range – Again this one has to go to the AR15 platform. The reasons for this are simply that the 5.56×45 has and effective range of about 600 meters compared to the 7.62×39’s effective range of about 500 meters. Add to that the fact that the 5.56 round has far less bullet drop out past 300 yards than the 7.62 does and you understand why the AR wins in this catagory. EDGE AR15

Durability – This one should be a no brainer, even AR fans should know that the durability of the AK in any number of conditions and circumstances is better than that of the AR. Simplicity of design, fewer moving parts and tougher building materials all add up to the AK winning this one.EDGE AK47

Reliability – This one may be a little harder for the AR folks to swallow but just like with durability, the AK wins this one. The reliability of the AK has been proven time and again for a couple of decades longer than the AR has been around. In addition to that, the simplistic design and piston system lends itself to less potential problems than the AR platforms due to issues like a gas system that without cleaning has the potential to foul up the action and cause failures. EDGE AK47

Supported vs Unsupported – This category is a litte more complicated and honestly something that alot of AR and AK lovers don’t always think about. The basics of it are that the AR15 platform has never served in an unsupported capacity, and by that I mean that the AR platform has always served with a standing military, repair technicians, spare parts and an armory standing behind it. The AK on the other hand has served for decades in an unsupported capacity in many conflicts from Asia to the Middle East and Africa to South America and has continued to prove itself even in the toughest conditions without support from any of the earlier mentioned support the AR has benefitted from. Now this doesn’t mean that the AR couldn’t hold its own in an unsupported capacity, simply that as of yet it hasn’t served successfully in one. EDGE AK47

So there you have it, nine categories. Three categories are a draw, three going to the AR platform and three going to the AK platform. So what does this prove, well it proves that there’s a reason why these two rifles are the most popular on the planet. You’d be well served with either of these rifles, in fact why not have one of each!

There seems to be quite a debate going on recently about what is a better gas system for the AR platform. So we’re going to take a look at a few of the basics concerning these two very different gas systems and compare the two and hopefully help you, the end user, decide what will work best in your rifle.

First off we have to acknowladge that the AR platform was designed to work with the Direct Impingement gas system and that for the most part Piston Systems are basically just add-ons or adaptations of the original DI designed rifle. It’s basically a modification to turn a rifle designed to work properly with DI into a piston rifle.

Some area where the DI system outshines a Piston system are as follows ……..

Free Float barrels – This is an obvious one, basically even though you can technically free float a piston rifle, it makes little sense as your negating the purpose of free floating a barrel by adding a moving piston that connects the barrel to the receiver.

Lighter weight – Self explanitory, although a few ounces shouldn’t make or break your purchasing decision.

More Common – This equates to easier to find and cheaper to purchase parts, along with more compatability with other rifles that might be used for parts interchangability.

Accuracy – This is another area where it should be obvious that by having a moving piston adding recoil, right above your barrel, your going to loose accuracy, especially for follow up shots.

Cost – Obviously because of its commonality and because its usually the way a rifle is manufactured, the cost is significanty less than that of a piston system.

Industry Standard – This comes into play because at this time there really is no industry standard for piston systems like there are for DI system rifles. There are many good companies that manufacture high quality piston kits or rifles designed to function with a piston system, but those companies do not all manufacture their kits and parts to be interchangable as every other part on an AR platform rifle is.

Now lets look at a few areas where the Piston System does a particularily good job ……..

Cleaner running & Heat Resistance – This is the biggest and most obvious advantage over a DI system on an AR platform rifle. The biggest downside to the DI system is that it dumps hot gas and fouling into the action of the rifle and the piston system takes care of this problem by venting all the gas elsewhere making the rifle easier to clean and require less maintenance and cleaning.

Reliability – Because of the issues with the DI system fouling up the action a case can be made that a Piston system is inherently more reliable than a DI system because fouling and carbon build up do not enter the action and potentially cause reliability problems.

Suppressors – One reason suppresors tend to work better with Piston systems is because the nature of a suppressor restricts gas coming out of the muzzle and with a DI system all that restricted gas that would normally be blown out of the muzzle gets directed back into the action and not only causes even more fouling than normal but has also been known to cause excessive gas to come out to areas of the receiver like the charging handle area and blow gas into the face of the user. For this reason a Piston system, which drastically cuts down the amount of gas that is distributed into the chamber, is perfered for rifle fitted with suppressors.

SBR – Piston systems also tend to function very well on Short Barreled Rifles because of the higher port pressure, making Piston systems popular on barrel lengths shorter than 16″.

Running Dry – The piston system is much more capable of running on a dry chamber and action as opposed to a DI system that requires much more lubrication to continue to operate efficiently due to a high rate of carbon build up and fouling distributed into the action of the rifle.

So those are the pro’s and con’s of Direct Impingement vs Piston Systems on AR platform rifles.
In the end, for most civilian shooters, the differences are negligable and either system will work very well for just about anything you will ever use your rifle for. It really comes down to personal choice.

Lets take a look at some of the differences and options you need to consider when choosing what barrel to go with for your AR15 rifle.

First let go over the different types of barrel steel and processes used to make the barrel. These will be CMV, Stainless & CHF

Chrome – Moly – Vandium (CMV)
This is the most common type of barrel steel used. It comes in mainly two forms.

4140 – carbon spec. 0.43 – Some say this mat be more thermally stable?
4150 – carbon spec. 0.48 – Some say this may be better for full auto?

Most shooters (even heavy shooters) will never notice a difference between 4140 & 4150 CMV barrels

The US military uses 4150 CMV

Stainless Steel
Stainles barrels are heavier

They can also be more accurate because the alloy is more maliable and allows for finer precision during the manufacturing process, if manufacturer takes time to do so.

Buy from a respected manufacturer to ensure barrel was precisely made for better accuracy

Cold Hammer Forged (CHF)
Cheaper cost per unit for manufacturer but manufacturing equipment is much more expensive making it harder to profit unless many units are produced and sold, which is why so few companies produce CHF barrels compared to those companies that produce CMV barrels.

CHF barrels are usually chromed lined.

Unlike standard barrel manufacturing, where a barrel blank is placed on a lathe and a machine drills the rifling into the barrel blank, with CHF a barrel blank is placed in a CHF machine and a mandrel with reverse rifling on it is placed in the barrel blank and the machine presses the steel onto the mandrel to press the rifling into the steel.

This process has the potential to make for a more durable and longer lasting barrel if done correctly, otherwise it offers no more barrel longevity than standard manufacturing processes.

Buy from respected manufacturer to get the benefit of a more durable barrel. FN is the manufacturer of choice for many shooters as they manufacture this same barrel for the US military.

Chrome Lined vs Non-Chrome Lined
Chrome lined barrels tend to be better at extraction and corrosion resistance and cleaning but tend to be slightly less accurate than standard non-chrome lined barrels, but this difference is so nominal that most users will never notice a difference.

If there is a difference it is probably more likely due to poor manufacturing than the chrome lining.

If you’ll be shooting steel cased or dirty ammo often chrome lining might be a better option for you, otherwise it really makes no difference and chrome lining is more expensive (by about $50 to $75 for a barrel), so if you don’t plan on shooting that type of ammo don’t waste the extra money.

Barrel Twist Rate
The barrel twist rate basically means how many complete revolutions does the rifling make inside the barrel.

For example a 1:7 twist rate means that every 7 inches the rifling makes one complete revolution around the inside of the barrel. So the smaller the second number, the faster the rifling spins the bullet.

The most popular are 1:7 and 1:9 (although a newer 1:8 twist rate is becoming more popular).

Basically the twist rate breaks down like this – the heavier/longer the bullet is the more spin is needed to stabalize that bullet, so for instance a 62gr 5.56 would have much better accuracy and range out of a 1:7 twist barrel than a 1:9.

The best overall twist rate will be 1:7 because it’s accurate with the widest range of bullet weights and lengths (although some people claim that a 55gr bullet can be overstablized in a 1:7 twist barrel and loose some accuracy, the percieved accuracy loss is still negligable and most shooters wouldn’t notice a difference)

All in all 1:7 is going to be your best bet although it can be slightly more expensive, it is fast becoming the industry standard. However if all u plan on shooting is 55gr loads then you might be better served just getting a 1:9 twist and saving a little money.

16″ is the most popular as is suites most types of shooting including long range, CQB, defensive shooting & just having fun at the range.

14.5″ is basically the same in function and purpose as the 16″ except due to laws a 1.5″ muzzle device must be permanantly attached to the barrel to ensure the length is at least the 16″ legal limit

20″ is usually religated to longer range shooting and range use and generally considered to be less desirable for CQB or defensive situations where a shorter barrel would be more useful.

Barrel Contours
Your standard barrel contours are Lightweight (pencil) Barrel – M4 Contour (government profile) Barrel – Heavy Barrel – and many other barrel designs, many of which are custom or fluted designs that each offer their own unique advantage and disadvantages. We’ll discuss the most popular.

Lightweight (pencil) barrel is very popular for a lighweight easily manuverable rifle design. If your doing a lightweight build this might work for you, but keep in mind that it does have a shorter life than other barrels and should not be choosen if your a heavy shooter who puts alot of rounds through your rifle.

M4 contour (government profile) is pretty much the standard in most carbine length rifles. It offers good weight with good barrel life. Great for most shooters.

Heavy Barrel is a considerably (in barrel terms) thicker barrel adding life and heat resistance to your barrel but it does so in exchange for more weight.

So thats it, the basics of AR15 barrels. Hopefully this article will hep you in choosing a barrel for your next AR purchase or build.

Buying an AR can be a daunting task, especially if its your first time. Deciding what to buy and how much to spend can be an endless chore. If your like me and don’t feel like spending $1000 on a stock rifle only to then spend another $300 to $400 in accessories to get the custom look you want then I might have a few tips for you on how to get a quality rifle for an affordable price.

1) Make the decision to build the rifle yourself – It may seem like a daunting task but it really isn’t dificult at all, anyone with even a basic knowlage tools and a little common sense can put one together very easily with a little help from any number of tutorial videos available on youtube and elswhere.

2) Buy a stripped lower – This is very easily done, it’s the only part of the rifle considered a firearm because it has the serial number on it, so it’ll have to be bought from an FFL or ordered online then shipped to your local FFL. The cost one these start at around $50 to $60 and you shouldn’t need to spend much more than that to get one. In the end you’ll drop about $100 for the lower, shipping and FFL transfer costs.

3) Buy a rifle kit – Many companies sell these kits, it usually consists of a completely assembled upper (upper receiver, barrel, front sight, handguards, colt carrier group and charging handle all assembled), a lower parts kit to install in your stripped lower, a pistol grip and stock. These kits can be had for about $450 give or take from companies like Del-Ton, Blackthorne & Palmetto State Armory.

4) Start adding accessories – Heres a list of a few accessories that will give your rifle that custom $1200 look.

Magpul Rear MBUS Flip-up sight – $49.99

Magpul B.A.D. Laever – $22.95

Magpul Polymer MOE Trigger Guard – $8.95

Magpul XTM Rail Covers (3 sets) – $21.00 ($7.00 each)

UTG Quad-Rail carbine length – $29.99

Blackhawk Ergo Grip – $19.99

Pro-mag Vertical Grip – $8.99

YHM Phantom Flash Supressor – $24.95

Spike’s Tactical Nickel Boron Battle Trigger – $59.95

Spike’s Tactical Complete Bolt Carrier Group – $109.95

Polished Charging handle – Free (DIY project)

Total for upgrades – $356.71

Most of these accessories and many others depending on your preference can be found at places like AIM surplus or Cheaper Than Dirt online.

So once you’ve done all that you’ll end up with a quality custom look rilfe for under $900, and if you just want a stock rifle you can leave off the accessories and have a rifle for under $600 that will do you better than most other out of the box rifles that cost upwards of $800.

The B.A.D. lever from Magpul (or Battery Assist Device) is a great little accessory for your AR rifle or pistol.

For anyone who hasn’t used one, you’ve no doubt seen plenty of them in action or on a friends AR. The device is so simple in its design and intended use and is a great solution to what many people feel is a problem with the AR platform that its a wonder every AR built doesn’t have one installed from the factory.

Now for anyone who doesn’t know, what the B.A.D. lever does is allow you to operate your bolt release/hold open with your trigger finger. A great option for any AR.

But lets look at the operational functionality of the B.A.D. lever in comparison to the original AR designed bolt release/hold open.

The bolt release function of the original equipment simply needs to be tapped with your support hand (for a right handed shooter) to release the bolt and chamber a round so nothing too abnormal or inconvenient.

Whereas the B.A.D. lever allows you to simply release the bolt and chamber a round by flicking your trigger finger and keeping your support hand in the support position.

For the bolt hold open function the original equipment makes it to where you will need to take your trigger hand (for a right handed shooter) off the grip to pull back on the charging handle while engaging the hold open latch with your support hand. A very akward position and it takes you off target and out of a shooting position by removing your hand from the grip.

The B.A.D. lever simply has you pull the charging handle with you support hand and flick the lever with your trigger finger to hold open the bolt while never taking your hand off the grip or away from the trigger.

Now this second option for the B.A.D. lever for holding the bolt open is what I think make this device mandatory for any AR. The bolt release feature is nice but not needed and you should train to run the bolt release as intended anyway in my opinion.

So for an average price of somewhere between $25 to $30 bucks it’s definitely one of the most affordable and most useful accessories to your AR.

If you’re a first time buyer or builder of the AR platform there are a few tips that hopefully might help you out in making your purchasing decisions for either your parts or a complete rifle.

The first thing to remember when buying an AR …… most of the parts being used, no matter what the name your buying, either came from the same place or were made using the same equipment and made to the same specifications if your buying a “milspec” rifle.

Now if your going for a higher end rifle that has stricter tolerences and is built to a higher standard for more accuracy (although those companies sell milspec rifles as well) then thats a different story.

The next thing we need to understand is, what is “milspec” for an AR rifle. First off, there are only 2 companies that know what true milspec is or create true milspec rifles and those companies are FN & Colt because these are the only 2 companies that have government contracts and create true milspec rifles.

Most of what we in the civilian market call “milspec” is really just an industry standard chosen to get as close to true milspec as possible without the government inspection process. These industry standards include things like …..

5.56mm chamber (shoots 5.56 or .223)

11595E Barrel Steel

Manganese Phosphate finish barrel

F-marked front sight

Standard threaded 1/2 x 28 tpi barrel for muzzle device

Forged A2 front sight base w/ bayonet lug

Barrel is machined from chrome-moly, high vanadium steel and hardened to a U.S. government Mil-spec of Rc 26-32

So those are some of the “Milspec” specifications that most manufacturers are adhering to, but they are basically just industry standards, but for our purposes we’ll just use the term “milspec” as the closest you can get to a true milspec rifle is something from Colt and it still won’t be true milspec.

So if u are just getting something milspec, its all the same as far as parts quality. You may have some differences like types of finishes or chrome lined barrel or not, or a different barrel twist depending on what u go with but thats pretty much it.

Most of your recievers are going to come from the same places like Cerro Forge, FNMI or Colt then they are just marked for the company who buys and finishes them.

Most lower parts kits are all identical unless your installing a Geissele trigger or something similar (you’d be suprised how many companies use DPMS lower parts kits in their rifles) so there’s nothing to worry about there.

Most barrels are going to be either Mossberg, ER Shaw, DPMS or FN

Remember that all these parts may have a certain name stamped on them but that doesn’t make them different from most of the other parts out there that may have come from the same place or at least manufactured using the same proccesses and equipment to create those parts to the same milspec/industry standard.

The biggest issue with buying an AR has nothing to do with parts ……… its all about assembly, pick a company that has a good reputation for assembling rifles the right way, who MPI & HPT test there parts and who have a good customer service/warranty service. Some of the best companies in those catagories are suprisingly DPMS & Spike’s Tactical (although I know alot of people think Spike’s is overrated ….. they do have great customer service and they test all their parts, not just batch test)

As far as options go, a few of the bigger options that you’ll want to take into consideration are barrel twist, barrel & gas system length, chrome lined vs non-chromed lined barrel and barrel contour.

The twist rate is going to depend on what weight ammo your shooting, since the most common, most available & most affordable round is going to be 55 grain I’d recommend a 1:9 twist (which basically means that the rifled grooves in the barrel that spin the bullet make one complete revolution around the inside of the barrel every 9″ inches ….. a 1:7 would be every 7″ inches) getting a 1:7 twist works better for heavier bullets like the 62 grain.

As for the chrome lined vs non chromed lined option, thats a personal choice. Chrome lined usually tend to be easier to clean, have better extraction and if u use alot of different loads on your rifle it can help with reliability. Non chromed lined barrels are going to be more accurate but reqiure a little more effort to clean.

Now for the barrel/gas system length decision, this is one that has so many options that its an article in and of itself. The most popular and reliable will be the 16″ barrel with a carbine length gas system or the 20″ barrel with a full length gas system.

Lastly the barrel contour decision has just as many options if not more than the barrel length and gas system options but the standards are …….

M4 contoured barrel (most popular on the 16″ carbine version)

Bull/Varmint barrels (great for any length but mostly for target or small game shooting)

Heavy barrel (a good solid barrel that has a bit of a longer life than most but adds a bit of weight to the front end)

Light or “pencil” barrel (great at weight saving but if your an active shooter I wouldn’t recommend this as its has a shorter life as far as round count goes)

Remember that you don’t have to spend $1500 bucks to have a good quality AR and building one yourself can definitely help save you some money on a quality build.

Well there you go, those are the basics as I see them, hopefully it helps out a little when making your decision to buy or build your AR rifle.

So you’ve finally done it, you’ve decided to go to the “Dark Side” and get a “Black Rifle”. The time has come to get your first AR15.

This is where I found myself a few months ago, so I’m going to give you an idea of what to expect as you begin building your first AR15 rifle.

First off, yes, regardless of wether you’re actually building the rifle piece by piece or wether your buying a complete rifle, you will be building it in one way or another.

Without a doubt the biggest upside and downside to the AR platform is the almost LEGO-like ability to change every single part on the rifle to suit your wants or needs. The ability to add as much or as little to the rifle almost at a whim.

The upsides to this are obvious, but the downside doesn’t show itself until its too late. The downside I’m talking about is the almost magical ability of the AR to almost literaly reach into your pocket and spend your money on all sorts of new accessories and gadgets to hang on itself, things that you never thought you’d want or need.

This almost Merlin-like ability doesn’t show up right away mind you, it takes time. You’ll find yourself spending more and more time online just “looking” at small needed items to upgrade your rifle.

Next thing you know you’ve decided to order a quad-rail, just incase you ever decide to buy any other accessories, but of course your fine with the rifle just as it is. Then once the quad-rail shows up and is installed you begin to think “Man, a good vertical grip would work good for this, and I might need some rail covers too”.

Before you know it once a week UPS is showing up to deliver yet another accessory for your AR. As time goes by, and the weeks roll into months, you decide to add up what you have in your rifle. This was a mistake, the shock is staggering, and you suddenly realize the horrible things that will happen if your wife ever finds out you’ve spent more on this rifle than you did on her engagement & wedding rings combined with this years Birthday and Christmas presents.

So there you sit, months later with a rifle now worth well over triple what you originally paid, fearing the thought of your credit card bill coming in, and yet ……. you just can’t take your eyes off the thing, you look forward to getting to the range this weekend just so you can show off all the new gadgets you’ve thrown on it since the last time you were here, and then the worry and fear about all the money you’ve spent just goes away.

You go to sleep dreaming of that next upgrade …… maybe a new bi-pod, or a nickel boron trigger, or maybe it’ll be that new stock you’ve been looking at, who knows. Then you drift away into a deep sleep with a satisfied smile on your face.

The Blackthorne AR15 rifle has a rather poor reputation in the online community. Forums across the net are littered with posts asking “Should I buy a Blackthore AR15?” with a mountain of responses explaining how the Blackthorne AR15 is all but a pile of scrap metal not worth the cost to ship it.

Most of these post come from people that have a friend who used to own one, or saw one jam up at a range, or heard some expert at the gunshop talk bout them, but these responses rarely ever come from someone who has actually owned one. So let’s take an unbiased look at this company with the less than stellar reputation.

First off we need to understand one very important thing ……. Blackthorne is not an AR manufacturer, they are an AR assembler, they buy parts in bulk from other companies and assemble the upper receiver assemblies, then ship the to the customers, thats it, thats all they do.

Second, we need to understand where they buy their parts from, and I think some of the answers may suprise you. Lets take a look at a standard M4 style Blackthorne kit, just a basic model and see what parts are used.

Upper receiver – LMT blemished or LAR Grizzly

Barrel – ER Shaw, Mossberg or Wilson

Lower parts kit – DPMS, CMMG or D.D.

Bolt Carrier Assembly – DPMS or Wilson

Handguards – Tapco or similar

Now it took alot of research to find out what parts Blackthorne uses, since most companies don’t want people knowing that you can get their parts cheaper through another company, also you have to understand that whatever parts you get will be dependent on what they have in stock at the time your kit is being put together.

So as we can see while not extremely high end parts are used, they are parts from reputable companies that I think most of us trust.

So where does Blackthorne’s bad reputation come from? Well first off the fact that they’ve been known by a couple of other names and their reputation was just as bad then as it is now doesn’t help, but the real problem behind their reputation comes because of their quality control.

Remember Blackthorne is just an assembler and shipper of parts, and because of that you’d think they’d be able to do that one thing well, but unfortunately it can be hit or miss. I’ve seen everything from a improperly staked gas key to an improperly tightened barrel, and with things like that happening it’s easy to see why they have the reputation they do.

But let’s look at the upside.

The standard Blackthorne parts kit cost $420 without the stripped lower receiver and includes everything you’ll need to build a rifle and it ships free. So depending on what lower you buy you can walk away having only spent $520 bucks on a complete AR15 built using quality parts. To put that into context, buying the same parts Blackthorne uses yourself would cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 to $550 bucks depending on where you buy, so by ordering from them you can save $100 or more and have some of the parts assembled.

Bottom line.

If you don’t mind tweaking a rifle a bit if some of the assembly wasn’t up to par and you want to save money on quality parts to get a good rifle for a budget price, then Blackthorne is for you. Otherwise spend the extra $200 to $400 on a DMPS or BCM and call it a day.

I was looking for a little something to add to my AR15 carbine, because as most of you know you can never stop adding things to an AR. So I ran across the Spike’s Tactical Nickel Boron Battle Trigger group and I thought I’d give it a try.

Swapping out the trigger is easy enuff as most of your know and there’s nothing unusual about this trigger group that’s any different. The trigger group is complete so no parts from your old trigger group will be needed.

Once I installed it, and after a bit of dry firing, it was time to get to the range.

There are several things that seperate it from my mil-spec DPMS trigger group that it replaced.

First off when firing I noticed that out of the box the Spike’s trigger is much stiffer, and at first I was very disappointed. Now it felt like it was about a 6 lb trigger pull, but the stiffness really threw me off, but I’m glad to say that after a couple hundred rounds the stiffness went away.

Next we have the take up before the break, and this is one of the areas where the trigger shines, there is almost no noticable take up in the trigger before the break, as soon as you apply 6 lbs of pressure the trigger breaks.

This leads us into the very clean breaking trigger, no slop, no spongy mess, just a clear clean break, a good upgrade from my previous trigger.

Now for the reset, the reset is a fair bit shorter than my previous trigger but doesn’t have that clear audible click I enjoy in my triggers which my DPMS trigger did have. You can however feel the reset point very clearly, so not too bad.

All in all, at a price of $59.95 at most online retailers its a good solid upgrade to your mil-spec AR trigger for a good price. It won’t be what you want to get if your putting together a competition rifle, but for a little range time and some run n’ gun fun this will definitely do the trick nicely and add a little Nickel plated Bling to your rifle at the same time.